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NEW DELHI, JULY 10: A constant bombardment of images of Osama bin Laden has compounded trouble for American Sikhs, who faced racial hatred in the wake of al-Qaeda attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001, a Washington-based Sikh advocacy group said on Monday.
Sikh Council on Religion and Education (score) chief Rajwant Singh cited a survey his group had carried out in Washington on the levels of awareness among Americans about their understanding of the faith.
"We found that nine out of 10 educated Americans identified Sikhs with Muslims," said Singh, currently in India to garner support for an international Sikh forum.
The respondents were office managers, workers and college students, he said. "The reason for the low level of awareness is the constant bombardment of images from Iraq and bin laden, which are very confusing for the Americans.
Added to it is the general ignorance about the religion," he said.
He also spoke about what he called startlingly low levels of awareness about Hinduism in America. "People there also do not know much about Hindu religion... Hindus are thought to be worshippers of cows and stones."
Baffled by the survey findings, score has reached out to filmmakers to raise awareness about Hinduism and Sikhism.
"We have tied up with the American producers of the film Three faiths, One
God to make a TV film on three Indian religions - Hinduism, Sikhism and Budhism," he said.
Four days after 9/11, an Arizona Sikh, Balbir Singh Sodhi, was murdered in a hate attack by a young man, who apparently mistook him for an Arab. There were several other attacks on Sikhs in the US in the aftermath of 9/11 terror incidents. |